Magnussoft, the company now responsible for development on Zeta, has announced it is accepting pre-orders for Zeta 1.21. This new release will include multi-user support, will be built with GCC4, among other improvements. Bernd Korz's weblog contains more information. Korz was (is?) the CEO of YellowTAB, the company that started Zeta. Read on for a short editorial on this announcement.

Intel's first quad-core processor 'Kentsfield' has found its way into the Tom's Hardware test lab. Weeks before Intel will provide evaluation processors to the press, Tom's Hardware was able to obtain a qualification sample: The chip was sent through the test parcours, showing impressive performance.

The 'pretexting' technique used in a Hewlett-Packard investigation of board members and reporters has been an embarrassment for the company, Chairman Patricia Dunn said Friday. "I am not happy that the way this investigation has been conducted has led to this major embarrassment," Dunn said in an interview with CNET News.com. Asked if she believed pretexting is illegal, Dunn replied, "I have no idea, but it's wrong."

"This document describes how to install a mail server based on Postfix that is based on virtual users and domains, i.e. users and domains that are in a MySQL database. I'll also demonstrate the installation and configuration of Courier (Courier-POP3, Courier-IMAP), so that Courier can authenticate against the same MySQL database Postfix uses."

OpenVPN may seem a little daunting at first, but once you get your feet wet this can be an incredibly useful (and free!) tool. In this article, Michael Riley shows you how to use OpenVPN for secure internet surfing on your client PCs. He’ll also help you set up the configuration that will allow you access to your home network while you’re traveling. From installation to troubleshooting, and using helpful OS-specific tips, this tutorial demystifies OpenVPN for the beginning user.

"Is Browser Security getting better? That is tough to say but Firefox is definitely not leading the way. Despite all the hype, despite all the Myths, Firefox 1.x has a worse security record so far in 2006 than Internet Explorer 6.x."

Asbestos, a new prototype operating system, provides labeling and isolation mechanisms that help contain the effects of exploitable software flaws. Applications can express a wide range of policies with Asbestos's kernel-enforced label mechanism, including controls on inter-process communication and system-wide information flow. A new event process abstraction provides lightweight, isolated contexts within a single process, allowing the same process to act on behalf of multiple users while preventing it from leaking any single user's data to any other user. Initial tests have been promising, and Eddie Kohler, Asbestos's creator, hopes that within a few years, Asbestos will be an alternative to server operating systems such as Linux and Windows.

One of Vista's big security features is 'User Account Protection' (or 'User Account Control') which pops up and asks for user authentication before software can make any administrative changes to the system. But the TweakVista utility can turn off UAP in one click. Microsoft says this is UAP working as intended, because when a user runs TweakVista they are asked to authenticate. However, James Bannan at APC Magazine asked Microsoft what's to stop a downloaded 'freeware game' requiring user authentication upon installation and then disabling UAP altogether? Elsewhere, there's a tweaking guide for Vista RC1.

"Although most modern laptops nowadays tend to scare people off with an ugly 'Designed for Windows XP' mark, it does not mean that alternative operating systems, like GNU/Linux cannot be installed and function equally well. In this article I would like to describe a few common issues with Linux on laptops and maybe bust a few myths about using GNU/Linux on mobile computers."

"Linspire/Freespire is real Linux, and if you are hoping to convert someone loaning them a Linspire PC might be the way to do it. If you are a regular Linux user, you don't need it, but it makes a great set of training wheels."

"On Sept. 1, Microsoft began rolling out Vista RC1, raising hopes that all of the major issues have been resolved in the months since the beta two version. And it appears those hopes have been largely fulfilled. Here's a look at the top five improvements that RC1 brings since the beta releases of Vista."

Security researchers that carried out a code analysis of popular open source browser Firefox using automated tools, have discovered scores of potential defects and security vulnerabilities despite coming to the conclusion that the software was generally well written. A former Mozilla developer has criticised the methodology of the analysis and said it provides little help in unearthing real security bugs.

"Most of us have had a brand new computer at one time. It's a great feeling. You boot up windows and within 30 seconds you are surfing the net, checking your email, or playing your favorite game. 10 months down the road things aren't so nice anymore. You power up your computer and it seems to take forever to load. Even when you are careful about what you install it seems that each day it takes longer for it to boot. It's not your imagination - and there are a couple of good tips to keep your boot time short and sweet."

Mandriva Linux 2007 RC1 has been released. This new release brings the Ia_Ora theme to KDE, and fixes some bugs concerning proprietary video drivers (especially nVIDIA), the b44 network driver, and much more. You can get it via the development (Cooker) mirror trees on ftp and http, and via the preferred method: .iso images (available through the same mirrors as the Cooker ones). There is a changelog too.